What's going on in Aguascalientes
There is a lot going on down here in Aguascalientes, Mexico. I want to keep you all informed with the highlights each month. Thank you to all who pray for and support these ministries. We are able to bless so many people and we couldn't do it without you. To God be all the glory. Gracias amigos!
November was a busy month, full with lots of highs and lows. I was able to get a lot done and it was great to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving (twice) in a foreign country. But it was sad to see my friend/fellow missionary have such a hard time in her recovery.
Fellow missionary, Chevon, was released from the hospital and is back at home. She spent about 2 1/2 weeks in a hospital bed. She had a hip replacement and was waiting for surgery on her collar bone but never got it. But good news! The collar bone started healing and she no longer needs the surgery. The doctor gave her orders to start walking and using her arm. We have been doing everything we can to aid in her recovery but it is going very slow. There are good days and bad days. We had volunteers from multiple churches taking care of her 24 hours a day, but we decided to hire a nursing agency so she could have professional attention. We are battling to get Chevon to eat & drink and to take her medications. She's had to go back to the hospital multiple times; once for internal bleeding (due to so much medication on an empty stomach) and the second time for dehydration. It has been a huge struggle. Please keep her in your prayers!
I helped my girls with some of their school projects. They had their "semana cultural" (culture week) and had to build a real life example of something they learned in science class. Elvira decided to do an elevator that raised up and down with syringes and Ariana decided to do a beekeepers box. It was fun working with them and showing Ariana how to use a skill saw. She was a little scared at first but then got the hang of it. They both got A's on their projects.
Also at the girl's home we installed a solar water heater. They have been without hot water for about a year now. It wasn't a problem because we hooked up a hose that went directly to the shower and the water came out warm...hence the name of the city: Aguascalientes. But since they have been building a lot of new homes, we are struggling with water pressure and the water doesn't always arrive. Now we put in a water pump and a solar water heater so problem solved! I had my friend from the church, Oswaldo, who is a plumber help me because this is his area of expertise...and I don't really like plumbing.
I was able to finish welding the security doors for the church building that we constructed last year. They still need to be painted and installed which I will get to soon.
I hope everybody had a very Happy Thanksgiving! I got to celebrate twice this year. It was a huge blessing!
The first celebration was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Isaac, the pastor of the church I attend, and his wife Lara are both Americans. Since they were going out of town, we celebrated early. Lara is a great cook and always an excellent host. My plate looked so beautiful I had to take a picture.
The second celebration was on Thanksgiving Day. I celebrated with the kids at the orphanage. There was a man from California who wanted to bless the kids with an authentic Thanksgiving dinner, so he paid for all of the food and the staff prepared it. It was a fun time with the kids and I left stuffed!
Earlier on Thanksgiving day I installed some shelves at the orphanage. They are organizing their "bodegas" (storage rooms) and wanted more space. I saved this job for that day so I could work up an appetite and eat more later that night. My plan worked! I left very full. One of the kids, who we call Chino, was my helper for the day and did a great job.
My power went out and I was without electricity for a couple of days. I called the electric company and they sent somebody immediately BUT he couldn't help me. He told me that a lot of dirt had entered the electric box over the years and it had to be cleaned out because it buried a lot of the cables. He told me another team would come with more tools to do the job. This was on a Wednesday. I waited and...nothing. I called Thursday...nothing. Friday...nothing. They kept saying somebody would come. Finally on Saturday I called and the lady told me that they were waiting on me to remove the dirt from the electric box! I got into it a little with the lady on the phone and couldn't believe that I had to do work on the city's electric box - not to mention how dangerous it is and the possibility of taking out the entire street's power! She recommended hiring an electrician. Wow haha! I had no other option so I called my friend from church, Oswaldo, again and he had it fixed within a couple of hours. In the pictures you can see lots of cables that have been cut and taped together, exposed cables, and an entire section of cables was completely buried and covered in wet mud. I don't think that is up to safety code! Praise God my next door neighbor let me connect an extension chord at his house and let me borrow power for the 6 days I was without. What an experience. VIVA MEXICO!